


Filling The Cracks

by fadedink



Category: Aliens (1986)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-17
Updated: 2012-12-17
Packaged: 2017-11-21 09:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/596340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedink/pseuds/fadedink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a long flight from LV-246 back to Earth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Filling The Cracks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [irrelevant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irrelevant/gifts).



Day 1:

She gets Hicks situated in his bed, still blessedly passed out from the drugs they've pumped into him. Next is Bishop, battered and broken, but still coherent. He smiles as she clicks the connections that will keep him functioning on the long flight.

Thank you, he says, simply, the crackle in his voice betraying the damage done by the alien queen.

You've earned it, she replies, just as simply, offering a smile in return as she pushes the button to close his canopy.

Then she gets Newt settled, with a kiss on the forehead and quiet reassurances. And finally Ripley herself, hoping the nightmare truly is over as she pushes the button to seal her own canopy over her head.

 

Day 14:

Ripley wakes groggy, disoriented, having set the timer on her bed so she could check on Newt and Hicks. And Bishop. The plan she'd fallen asleep with -- the idea to put Bishop back together -- is still there, still doable. Perhaps.

She checks on Hicks and Newt, pleased to see they're still deep in slumber. Then it's on to Bishop.

And his surprise -- the fact that she _can_ catch him off-guard -- when he opens his eyes reaffirms her belief that this is the right thing to do. What, he asks, fingers of one hand twitching.

She lays out her idea of making him whole and all he says is, oh, and then, yes, it's possible, not necessarily practical. She points out that nothing about this is practical. He laughs.

So she pulls out a tool kit and goes to work. Bishop offers advice and direction. It isn't much, but it _is_ a start.

She climbs into her capsule, setting the timer for four weeks.

 

Day 42:

The second time she wakes, Bishop is already awaiting patiently for her. It's not like he can do otherwise, he points out, since he _is_ still in two pieces. The dry joke makes them both laugh.

This time she wakes Newt as well, drawing the child out, showing her that everything is still okay.

The monsters, it seems, are all gone. For now, at least.

When Newt asks, Ripley leads her to Hicks' capsule, reassuring them both that he's still alive. Still with them. Good, Newt says, simply, and Ripley agrees.

Under Bishop's tutelage, the repair job continues. Newt is a big help, her small hands able to fit in places Ripley can't reach, nimbly working with the small connectors that control the finer motor movements.

The first time Newt giggles (over a horrible joke that Bishop tells), Ripley looks up, startled. Then she catches Bishop's eye over Newt's head. It's a nice sound. A _good_ sound.

Hearing it, Ripley allows herself to start to believe that maybe -- just _maybe_ \-- things really are going to be okay.

This time, when Ripley closes herself back into the capsule, she sets the timer for three weeks.

 

Day 63:

When Ripley wakes the next time, she finds that Bishop has an idea of his own for moving things along in their plan to get him all in one piece. They talk it over, weighing the pros and cons, and decide to give it a shot.

After all, they have nothing to lose.

So she guts one of the hypersleep capsules, ripping out wires and chips, pulling out intact circuit boards. Then she gets to work.

It's progress, of a sort, but it's slow going. At one point, Bishop jokes that he never wanted to be an appliance. She tells him it could be worse.

He could be a ratchet. Or a navigation system.

Bishop blinks slowly, then laughs. True, he says, and his voice isn't as broken as it was before.

Whatever it is she's doing to fix him, she's doing it right. Each tiny bit of progress she makes on him eases her, calms her, fights back the demons she's not sure will ever be gone, but together they're moving forward.

When she goes to close them in their capsules for the next part of the trip, Bishop suggests waking Newt again the next time. It's a good suggestion. Ripley simply says she'll consider it.

Then Bishop says he misses Newt, misses her laugh. And Ripley realizes that perhaps she's not the only one healing and growing and learning new things. So she agrees and is rewarded by a smile.

She sets the timer for two weeks.

 

Day 77:

Newt wakes with a wide smile, rubbing her eyes before she stretches. Are we working today, she asks, and Ripley tells her yes.

In fact, Ripley says, as they check on Hicks, we have some special tasks for you.

Newt stares into Hicks' capsule for a moment, clearly reassuring herself that their little group is still intact, but the idea of special tasks is exciting, and she's bouncing with suppressed energy before Ripley can wake Bishop. In no time, they're at work, tools spread across multiple surfaces.

Wires are pulled and checked, cables and tubes as well. Capacitors and conductors, transistors and circuits. Everything is checked under bright lights and magnifying glasses.

When everything is ready, Newt works on reconnecting the wires and cables, taking her time to make sure that the pieces are going where they should. Bishop helps, his voice soft as he offers instruction.

Ripley busies herself soldering circuits into place, turning a jigsaw puzzle of pieces into something they can use. It's soothing work, and keeps her busy. Still, when she's finished, she holds it up with a sense of accomplishment.

It's Bishop who finally calls a halt to production, reminding Ripley that she and Newt need to rest. They still have a long journey back to Earth.

They agree again on the two week timeframe, and Ripley tucks Newt in before settling herself.

 

Day 91:

Not bad, Bishop says, for a human.

The remark is such a Bishop thing to say that Ripley laughs. It feels good, she realizes, trying to remember the last time she'd laughed and meant it.

It's been a long time.

And you're okay for an android, she replies, still chuckling as she tests connections. There's a twitch of one foot as she taps two wires together. She tests it again with the same result. And again.

She looks at Bishop to find him staring at the foot. Then his gaze shifts to hers and he smiles. It's working, he tells her.

That _was_ the plan, she reminds him, hiding her smile.

It _is_ working, and while she may not be all the king's horses or men, Bishop isn't Humpty Dumpty, either. Even if he does look it at the moment. So it's not perfect, and it's not finished -- it's not even close -- but it _is_ a start.

And another step in the right direction.

Do you think this will work, she asks. Do you think we can pull this off and make you whole?

Not completely, no, Bishop replies, all honesty (because they haven't yet figured out how to enable him to lie -- and they need to, given the amount of questions the Company will be asking). But we can come close.

She can't deny his words. All she can do is continue what she's doing, trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together without training or supplies or the proper equipment. And pray to a god she no longer believes in that all their efforts will work.

 

Day 185:

Almost seven months in space -- of waking every few weeks and working -- and Ripley has done all she can. So she shakes off the cobwebs for the final time, waking Newt and checking on Hicks before turning to Bishop.

It will be okay, he tells her, and she allows herself a little smile.

They'd finally managed to get him to lie. There's no telling how the Company will react if they ever find out, but Ripley doubts they will. After all, it's a known fact that androids can't.

And Bishop is far too good at it.

You're not finished, she points out, and Bishop just nods.

But there's nothing else they can do. The ship will dock in a few short hours, and the experts will come swooping in to take over. They'll check Newt, dig into Ripley's head, take Hicks to the infirmary, and slap a bandage on Bishop. It won't be enough, but the four of them will make it work.

They're bound together now, through tragedy and triumph, and Ripley refuses to let anything tear that from them.

We can do this, Bishop says, and Ripley turns to find Newt standing at his side, her hand in his, her head nodding as she looks at Ripley with solemn eyes. We have a plan.

Will it be enough, she asks, and Bishop says it will.

He might be lying to make her feel better, but she can't tell. That, she tells herself, is a good thing. But perhaps their plan to tell the Company only what they need to know while keeping certain details hidden will work.

Newt comes and catches her hand, tugging gently until Ripley follows her back to where Bishop rests by Hicks' bed. It will work, Newt says, softly, and slips her free hand into Bishop's. We're a family now.

Are we, Ripley asks, looking down at her in surprise. Newt just nods.

We can be, Bishop says, suddenly.

She blinks in shock, then shares a long look with Bishop. And nods. They _are_ a family. Small and broken and a little dysfunctional, but a family nonetheless. Ripley realizes then that she loves each one of them for who they are.

And Ripley will fight for what she loves. The Company will not tear them apart. And while she may have nightmares for the rest of her life, she will not bow down to them. She will not let the monsters take Newt. Or Bishop. Or Hicks. They are hers now, for better or worse.

So Ripley will fight, and she will win.

She refuses to accept any other outcome.

**Author's Note:**

> The request was for Ripley/Bishop AU friendship fic, or possibly more if I was up to it. But even if I wasn't, to please please go somewhere canon did not. I hope I managed at least part of that, because I enjoyed writing the two of them and would have never come up with this on my own devices. :D


End file.
